UC Berkeley Point of View

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BERKELEY – The Iraq war, homeland
security, tax cuts, the job market, stem-cell research — these issues
have been front and center during the presidential debates and the stump
speeches of both President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. But
are they critical to Berkeley students? Yes and no, it turns out, according
to this unscientific survey of students found in and around Sproul Plaza.
Full disclosure: four students declined to answer, saying they weren't
following any issues in particular, and we've omitted two who would not
provide their names along with their opinions.

'Education and health care. Education in inner cities
and rural areas, and particularly for people of color, is not good
enough. Teachers who hardly make any money are having to buy their
own supplies. This election is crucial — it can expand the playing
field and level it out for students of color, or it can increase the
gap. And with health care — I am shocked by the number of Americans
who don't have health insurance. There are so many people who work,
professional people, and can't afford health care. That's wrong.'

'The war in Iraq. I'm concerned about the precedent
it has set, the way we've lost all international support, and where
the country is going from a global perspective. Domestic issues are
important too, but not as much as the war is.'

—Alex Hafez, third-year
classics major. Hometown: Berkeley, CA.

'It's hard to say, because I don't think either candidate
has addressed young people's issues, such as education, minorities,
health issues — they've just talked abut the war the whole time.
Many young people don't have health insurance. If I weren't going to
Berkeley, I probably wouldn't have it.'

'Do I have to answer? I'm Republican and I don't want
to get yelled at. But I have to say government spending. I don't see
the Iraq war lasting more than a couple more years, but if Kerry's
elected, he'll be in for eight years and then probably Hillary [Clinton]
for eight more. I don't think the United States can afford that, economically.
I think Bush will be better for the economy.'

'Especially at a time like this, I'd have to say foreign
policy. If I were 18, I would vote for Kerry because I don't think
we can afford to keep things the way they are, with Bush's unilateralism
and disregard for other countries. If we really want to fight terrorism,
we can't do it alone.'

—Ziwei Hu, first-year PEIS (undeclared)
major. Hometown: Davis, CA.

'The economy. My parents run a business, head hunting,
that's very influenced by how well the economy is doing. When the job
market is down, their business is down, and that means there's less
money coming into our household.'

'For me, it's health care and education. Insurance
is expensive — being a college student and no longer on your
parent's insurance is hard. And I don' think we're spending enough
money on education. Education in the inner cities, like where I'm from
in Los Angeles, is not up to par with other parts of the nation or
even California. That makes it hard for inner-city students to compete
with other students, which isn't fair.'

—Eryn Mack, second-year English major.
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA.

'Do I have to pick one? I think there are three that
are very important to me. The current tax policy makes me very uncomfortable.
We have so much debt as a nation, and education funding won't be increasing
anytime soon. We can't afford the tax cuts. Next, foreign policy. I
was in Europe this summer and so many random people just came up to
me on the street to tell me how much they loved America but hated Bush.
Then there's the environment. Clinton did all this good stuff to protect
it, and then Bush came along and just broke all these treaties.'

'I can't vote here, but I think that there should have
been more domestic policy issues discussed in the debates, things like
immigration and the health system. I think they should have talked
more about how they planned to re-do the tax system and increase jobs.'

'The distribution of resources in education is the
most important issue to me, not that anyone's really talking about
it. I'm coming from the working-class perspective. This election is
a matter of choosing between the greater of two evils. The people who
have all the economic power also have all the decision-making abilities
— they're disconnected from the proletariat, and meanwhile, the
working class is too busy working, trying to survive, to make their
voices heard.'